aces and spades
by acronymed
Summary: AU. Down, down the rabbit hole. — Axel/Kairi.
1. Aces

A/N: This is for Loren. Happy sweet sixteen!

Oh, and, as you'll soon be able see, I changed the Larxene/Axel/Marluxia dynamic a little. Marluxia is Larxene's bitch instead of the other way around. But Axel is still a backstabbing, independent asshole. Actually, he's a really big asshole in this. Oops.

I own nothing. This disclaimer applies for both parts of this two-shot.

Aces and Spades

Kairi's dreaming; she's sure of it. Because flowers don't talk and the sky doesn't change colour every ten minutes and the ground doesn't go from dirt to brick _while she's walking on it_ and she can't saunter down the face of a cliff without falling.

But they do and it does and she can, so Kairi must be dreaming. Except she's one hundred percent certain she isn't. She's awake. She's coherent. She's watching a couple of roses sing the chorus to a song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. She's living this, no matter how illogical it seems.

And that scares her more than any twisted nightmare ever could.

--

She remembers walking, pavement hard and _there _beneath her, past the crumbling remains of the apartment building that burned down next door, and into the maze of back alleys that ran behind it, twisting and turning left and right to get to somewhere, anywhere, nobody knows where.

Then she remembers falling, the concrete suddenly invisible and _gone, _somewhere near the chain-linked fence that separated the back alleyway from a schoolyard. Maybe she fell in a ditch, or something, but she remembers falling.

And now she's asking a flower for directions.

_--_

_This, _she decides, _must be what Hell is like._

It feels like it's been hours, even though it's only been one, and she's gone from walking across bridges that you can't see to climbing up a tree upside down and discovering that the sky is actually four different colours at once.

The flowers are no help. They sing a pretty tune and smile a pleasant smile, but they're useless. Not much different from the flowers in reality, she thinks.

Well, minus the talking, singing, smiling part.

There's a mangled tree near where she's standing, branches twisted and turned upwards into spirals of intertwined wood. Kairi doesn't want to sit under it, even though her feet hurt and she's tired, because it's black. She can handle the mangled branches and the haunting looking face that seems to be carved into it, but she can't handle the black.

So she stands around and waits for something to happen.

And something does happen, while the flowers sing, the sky goes magenta and the path ripples into yellow brick. Because, apparently, standing around and doing nothing provokes trees that-are-supposed-to-be-brown-but-are-instead-black into starting a conversation.

In a British accent.

Kairi really wishes she were dreaming.

--

_So, what's your story, _the tree asks, only not really because it's not supposed to be talking. Kairi pretends that she's talking to a guy and not a plant, because watching its mouth _not_ move while it speaks to her is just too weird.

"My story?" She raises her eyebrows, even though she's sure it can't see her. Though she wouldn't be surprised if it could, eyeballs or not. "What do you mean, my story?"

_C'mon, love, don't play stupid, _it says. Kairi tries to pretend that being called 'love' by a tree does not freak her out. _How'd you end up here?_

"I fell," she says flatly. The tree sways slightly and Kairi thinks that's probably sign language for laughter, or something.

_Down the proverbial rabbit hole, no doubt, _it/he/the tree says, amusement evident in its/his/the tree's tone. Kairi really hopes she's not stuck in some screwed up version of Alice In Wonderland. The last thing she needs is a Mad Hatter.

"What's your name?" she asks, sick of referring to the tree as multiple pronouns in her head.

_Luxord, _it replies. _I used to be human, you know._

"Wonderful," Kairi deadpans. "Does that mean I'm going to turn into a tree? Because, really, that would just be the cherry on top of this sundae."

Luxord sways again. _No, no. You won't be turned into anything anytime soon, so long as you don't make any wagers you'll regret later._

"Wagers?" She scrunches up her nose. "What, is there a Casino hidden around here too? Since the talking flowers obviously weren't enough."

_Bloody hell, _Luxord says, swaying again, though it's almost unnoticeable, as if he's trying to contain his laughter. _You're a sarcastic one, aren't you?_

"Comes with falling into ditches and ending up in Hell," she grumbles. "So, how did you end up a tree?"

_I bet my soul in a game of chance, _he replies, _and lost._

"So you got turned into a tree?" Kairi blinks. "What, was the winner some kind of environmentalist or something?"

_No, _Luxord says. _Just someone who didn't want me to leave._

"You," she bites her lip worriedly, "you're from the real world too?"

_Silly girl, _Luxord says. _This is the real world. Just not the one you want to see._

"Wonderful," she mutters. "How do I get back to my version of the real world, then?"

_You've got to be let out, _he says. _Though I highly doubt that'll happen. The Queen isn't very… merciful._

"Don't say she's the Queen of Hearts," Kairi groans. "Please, do not say she's the Queen of Hearts."

_You're not in __Alice In Wonderland__, sweetheart. _Luxord's upper branches rock back and forth. _And she's not the Queen of Hearts, though that would be ironic, since she's heartless._

"Right. Okay. Heartless queen. And I've got to convince her to let me out." Kairi presses the heels of her palms into her eyes. "This isn't happening."

_Sadly, it is. But, you're only here because someone wants you to be. So maybe you should find out just who that person is first, yes?_

"Yeah. Alright, well, thanks," she says awkwardly, rubbing her arm. "It was nice talking to you, Luxord."

_You too, Kairi._

Kairi looks at him sharply, eyes wide. "How do you know my name?"

But he doesn't answer. Not that she expects him to.

--

"I… really hate it here." Kairi slumps down in front of a group of petunias that are happily singing the chorus of some song she used to listen to when she was six. "I just want to go home."

"You'll have to see the Queen about that, then," Petunia Number One says, after they've all finished singing. "Though, I have to warn you, she's not exactly sweet and caring."

A couple of petunias giggle into their leaves. Kairi, who can't believe she's actually just witnessed giggling flowers, squeezes her eyes shut and leans her forehead against her knees. "So I've been told."

Petunia Number Two, who is slightly cross-eyed, looks at her sympathetically. Kairi doesn't think she'll ever be able to visit Aerith at her flower shop ever again. If she ever goes back to her world, that is.

"Oh, you poor thing," she coos, and Kairi feels smooth leaf flutter over the back of neck in a gesture of comfort, like Tifa used to do when she was eight-years-old and crying. "You know, maybe Demyx can help you out."

"Demyx?" Kairi perks up, arching her head back to look up at the smiling plant. "Who's that?"

"Demyx," Petunia Number One explains, "lives just beyond that field over there." She waves a leaf in the direction of a large looking plain at the end of the path. "In the woods, near the pond. He's had some past experiences with wanderers and the Queen. If you've got any shot of returning to your own world, it's with him."

"That," Kairi says, as she stands up and brushes dirt off her ripped jeans, "is the most helpful thing I've heard all day."

All five petunias smile at her simultaneously and wave her off as she heads in the direction of the field. "Good luck, Kairi!" Petunia Number One calls.

Kairi freezes mid-step and glances over her shoulder. "How do you know my name?"

There's no answer and Kairi realizes it's because all the petunias are wilted and closed up on themselves as they bend towards the ground. Biting her lip anxiously, she resumes walking, intent on finding this 'Demyx' character and figuring out what is going on.

--

The field is made up of grasshoppers, ladybugs, grass and piles upon piles of empty teacups and shattered bottles that smell suspiciously of vodka and green tea. Kairi doesn't know whether to think it's all brilliant, or absolutely insane.

Then she asks a grasshopper if he knows Demyx, and, upon hearing the mumbled response (and not understanding it at all, mind you,) decides that it is most definitely the latter.

The rest of the trip is rather uneventful and ridiculous, though she does almost cut herself on several chunks of busted bottle because one insect was careless enough to simply throw it away when it was finished and, on more than one occasion, she jumps to the sound of splintering glass.

Eventually, she nears the edge, where grass melds into tree root and dirt, her nerves a little frayed, but intact, with a strong resolve to never a drink for as long as she lives. It's not so much a forest as it is a small cloister of trees, strategically spread out along the end of the field.

Taking a deep breath, she takes the first step into the darkened woods.

--

Demyx turns out to be a six-foot tall nineteen-year-old with rabbit ears, a tail and webbed fingers. Not exactly what Kairi's expecting, but she's dealt with worse. Like walking down the side of a cliff without even realizing it until she looked up and saw the other side of the canyon.

She finds him just where the flowers said he'd be, swimming in a pond, in the grouping of trees just beyond the field of alcoholic ladybugs and grasshoppers. She doesn't see him at first, because she's busy trying to avoid being hit in the face with tree branches that seem to come out of nowhere. He sees her though, fair skinned and helpless, as she's attacked by every twig and stick in sight.

She's kicking a persistent tree branch away, the one that's been trying to wrap around her waist the whole trek, when he taps her on the shoulder and says, "Having trouble?"

Kairi jumps, startled, and whips around to look up at him, pale with fright. "Oh my God! Please don't do that ever again. I think my heart just jumped out of my chest."

"Well, we can't be having that, now can we?" he says, lips quirking upwards. Kairi takes a deep breath, closing her eyes, her heart racing, and tries to calm down. "You alright now?"

She nods slowly, taking another breath. "Yeah, I think I'm fine now." It's then, still holding a loose hand to her heart, that she gets a good look at him.

"Well," she says, as his tail wraps loosely around her wrist, "you're certainly not what I was expecting."

"Were you expecting someone muscular, handsome and charming?" He snorts, letting his extra appendage fall back behind him. "This isn't some sappy romance novel, you know. This is life."

"No," Kairi argues, "it isn't. Because in life, flowers don't sing, trees don't talk, the sky isn't four different colours-"

"It's six today, actually," he interjects. Kairi shoots him a dirty look.

"As I was saying; the sky isn't multicoloured, bugs don't drink alcohol and you can't defy gravity by walking down cliffs horizontally!"

Demyx grins sideways at her, and despite all her anxiety, Kairi can't help but find it cute. Which is probably his intention, but she's too tired and confused to care if she's being manipulated or not anymore. "So, you talked to Luxord?"

She shoots him a befuddled look, so he adds, "He's a friend of a friend."

"Yes, well, I did," she sighs, the syllable long and drawn out. "He says I'm here because someone wants me here. Why, I don't know."

"Probably boredom," he says offhandedly. When she looks at him in disbelief, he shrugs. "Well, not everyone here is as easily amused as you seem to be."

"I'm not amused," Kairi snaps, stomping her foot childishly. "I'm tired, freaked out, confused and I want to go home."

Tears of frustration are welling up in her eyes, so Demyx changes tactics. "Then again, you could be here for some otherworldly purpose! Like, uh, freeing Luxord! Though I doubt that's going to happen because Larxene is a bitch, but, you know. Maybe you're some kind of heroine. Or something. Aw, crap, please don't cry, Kairi."

Swallowing hard, she wipes the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes away and looks up at him, nose scrunched up in confusion. "How does everyone here know my name?"

"Axel," Demyx says simply, as if that one word answers all her problems. Then, when she looks at him for further explanation, he adds nervously, "Er, he just went around saying a redhead named Kairi was going to come tumbling in soon."

"You mean, he's the one who brought me here?"

Demyx looks hesitant. "That's a possibility, yes."

Kairi frowns and looks down at her hands. "But, why would he do that?"

Demyx shrugs again, still a little shaky looking, and bends down to pick his shirt up off the banks of the pond. "Like I said: boredom."

Kairi runs her tongue along her lower lip slowly. "So," she begins, "because this Axel guy was bored, I got hauled out here after falling in a ditch for his amusement? And now I've got to go visit The Queen, who is awful apparently, and have her send me back?"

Demyx nods, then pulls his shirt on. "Yeah, pretty much," he replies, his voice muffled. "If Axel is indeed the one who brought you here. Sucks, doesn't it?"

Kairi glares at her mismatched high top sneakers in disdain. "I am going to _kill_ this guy when I meet him."

Demyx smiles half-heartedly at her and sighs, running a hand through his damp hair. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

--

"Larxene, the hume girl has found Demyx." Marluxia polishes his scythe with the sleeve of his coat, examining his reflection in the metal. "Are we going to do anything about it?"

Larxene snorts from her perch on a tree branch and swings her legs up in front of her, leaning back against the trunk. "Of course we are," she says, pulling a book out of her pocket. "Aren't we, Axel?"

Axel smirks from his place on the throne, crown lopsided on his head, legs crossed, one hand supporting his head, long fingers tapping against the armrest. "Of course we are, Larxene. We can't have Demyx playing with things that don't belong to him, now can we?"

The two of them exchange malicious smirks. Marluxia can't help but chuckle. "Oh, the lengths we go to to enjoy our toys," he says wistfully. "Shall I send something to keep an eye on them?"

"Don't bother," Larxene says. "I'm sure Axel would love to get up off that throne and stop pretending he's royalty for a while, isn't that right, _Ax_?"

The redhead sneers at her. "If I'm pretending, you must be absolutely delusional, _Larx_."

"If either one of you calls me _Marly_," Marluxia says, glancing between the two of them, "I'm going to murder the both of you and feed your remains to my Venus Fly Trap."

"Don't worry," Axel replies smoothly, clambering to his feet. "I don't plan on spending my play time with the Princess in the stem of a plant." Throwing the crown at Larxene, he says, "I'll be back later."

"Don't mess her up too bad, Axel," the blonde calls, catching the piece of jewellery effortlessly with one hand, eyes never straying from her book. "I want to have some fun, too."

"I thought you were still destroying that pixie, Naminé." He's at the entrance to the hedge that separates them from the rest of the world. "Or have you already given Marluxia your leftovers?"

Larxene laughs mirthlessly while Marluxia's lip curls back over his teeth as he snarls at the redhead. "Watch your tongue or I'll cut it out."

Axel smirks, acid green eyes sharp and dangerous. "Forgive my insubordination, _My Lord_," he quips. "It won't happen ever again. Really."

Larxene laughs again, louder and colder than before, blonde hair and brown bark meeting somewhere in the middle. Marluxia's face goes devoid of expression as he calmly returns to polishing his weapon; Axel considers this a sign of defeat and winks at the blonde in the tree before disappearing into the hedge.

Halfway to the exit, a branch slithers out from the thicket and hits Axel hard and fast across the spine, then darts back into the greenery as if it'd never been there. Axel doubles over, wincing and chuckling at the same time.

_Always have to have the last word, don't you, Marluxia? _he thinks, kneeling in the dirt. _Too bad you're going to die._

He straightens, back stiff from pain, and continues venturing deeper into the brambles and the bushes, and lets his lip curl up in a sneer as he hears lightning crackle behind him and sees the hedge begin to shake. There's a screech, a cry, an explosion of light behind him, and then only the sound of metal meeting metal can be heard.

"Well, they got there quicker than anticipated," he muses, not quite sentimental enough to care, but not quite heartless enough to not. "Oh well; as long as it doesn't interrupt playtime."

His eyes darken as he runs his tongue along his lower lip. The hedge is still again. "Guess I better go let Naminé know neither Larxene nor Marluxia will be paying her a visit anytime soon." He snorts derisively. "Not."

And with that, Axel turns left and continues towards the ink black exit that he can't see yet, whistling to himself as a battle wages on behind him and forest opens up in front of him.

--

Kairi and Demyx haven't moved from the pond since their meeting, both occupied with their own thoughts of how to convince Larxene to send Kairi back to her own world. Kairi is making things out of the bits of driftwood and flat rocks she's finding along the edge of the water while Demyx does laps, back and forth, back and forth.

She's been thinking about her predicament, how everything went topside just because someone decided they wanted to have a bit of fun with the silly little human girl who went for a walk because she couldn't handle the independence that came with living alone.

She's been thinking about her world, about the smell of salt-air when she'd go back to the islands for the summer, about the shops downtown, past her apartment building, the ones she'd go to in the winter.

She's been thinking about Sora and Riku and mornings spent in a café on the corner and whether or not they're looking for her, whether or not they even know she's gone.

Demyx watches her carefully for a while, gauging her facial expressions. He can't begin to understand how it must feel to be in unfamiliar territory with too many questions and no answers, and it strikes somewhere deep in his chest, seeing her like that. It reminds him of how Naminé used to look after her parents died. Lost. Nostalgic. Terrified.

Eventually Kairi's face goes blank and stays that way and he gets a little panicked, so he climbs out of the water, pulls on his shirt for the second time, and shakes his hair out like a dog. He goes to talk to her, to comfort her, but pauses for a moment and stares deep into the trees, a hard look on his face, before saying:

"Kairi, I think we've got company."

She glances up from the charm bracelet she's making out of vines and watches, fascinated, as Demyx's ears twitch in the air rapidly.

"Oh, really?" she says, curious. "Do you know who it is?"

Demyx is silent for a moment, ears still twitching, then his face darkens and his tail begins to thrash wildly. "Damn it. It's Axel."

Kairi perks up, setting her temporary art project down on the muddy bank so she can get to her feet. "Really?" she says quietly, brushing wet sand off her pants. "Do you think he knows I'm here? I mean, he shouldn't, if he isn't the one who brought me here," she babbles anxiously. "At least, he shouldn't know I'm here now. But, what if he did bring me here and that's why he's coming? What then?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself," someone drawls. "After all, Demyx is only going to tell you what you want to hear. Isn't that right, Demyx?"

"Axel," the half-nymph says curtly. "I'll take your cryptic answer as confirmation, so I have to ask: what was the point in bringing Kairi here? Last I checked, you were still playing with dolls."

"Only the life-like kind," the redhead retorts, winking at Kairi blatantly. "But that's really none of your business, even if you did help get her here. Just like your pretty little girlfriend helped with Luxord."

Kairi whirls on him. "He did _what?_"

Axel fakes shock. "Oh, _you didn't know_? Tcht," he clicks his tongue, "that's not very honest of you, Demyx. Keeping secrets like that from her. For shame."

"Kairi, it's not what you think," Demyx says quickly, holding his hands up in front of him as she turns on her heel to glare at him. "Larxene and Marluxia, they wouldn't leave Naminé alone and the only way I could get them to stop was by making a deal with the Devil." He looks stricken as he continues, "She still wakes up screaming, some nights."

"Ah, like boyfriend, like girlfriend," Axel says wistfully, leaning against a tree. "Seeing as Naminé sold Luxord's soul as well, for your sake. Didn't think you could handle getting roughed up by these trees here," he pats the one he's leaning against fondly, "every day, right? But, that's all water under the bridge, isn't it?" He smirks maliciously, exposing sharp canines. "Though, if that were the case, I'm sure you would've told Kairi here _all_ about it. Am I right?"

Demyx snarls at him viciously. "Get the hell out of here, Axel. You're part of the reason she's here too. Who was it that went diving into the hume world to find a toy to play with? Who was it that played on my weaknesses to get me to help? Who was it who sent the Darkness Dwellers after your own supposed comrades?"

"Oh," Axel feigns innocence, " You must have heard about that little venture from your fishy friends. Larxene and Marluxia were tormenting dear, sweet Naminé and ambushing you whenever they pleased. I had to do something to stop them. That was part of our deal, after all, and as you know," he scratches the side of his chin absently, voice sickeningly sweet and untruthful, "I am a man of my word."

Demyx snorts. "Yeah, right."

Kairi looks between the two of them, wide eyed. "Oh my God," she murmurs. "You're both horrible!"

"No, sweetheart," Axel's coat flutters with a breeze and then he's suddenly breathing in her ear from behind. "We're _real_."

Demyx stiffens and turns towards the two of them slowly. "Axel, get the hell away from her. Right. Now."

"What's the matter," Axel mocks. "Does Demyx have a crush on the hume girl?" His hand skims along her bare shoulder. "Too bad; she's my toy for the moment."

"I am not!" Kairi snaps, stepping away from him so she can jab him in the chest with one finger. "I am nobody's property, nor am I anyone's toy. And I do not belong to you. Period."

Axel grins wryly at her. "That's what you think, Princess." And with a casual sweep of his arm, he grabs her wrist and pulls her towards the swirl of purple mist collecting behind them. "See, I always get what I want. Even If I'm not allowed to have it."

Demyx makes a lunge for the both of them and his fingers just brush against the back of Kairi's hand before the stick-thin teenager is pulled into purple, darkness curling around her form in strands and strips, and vanishes from sight completely.

--

PART TWO: AXEL/KAIRI SEXY TIME AND THE FINALE. ARE YOU PLEASED TO BE ENTICED YET?


	2. Spades

Aces and Spades  
_Part Deux_

--

Kairi's got her eyes squeezed shut as everything goes cold, then warm again. Axel's hand is a little looser around her wrist: not so much that she can pull free and maybe run, but not so tight that she's sure she'll bruise. She stumbles a bit as he tugs her forward, towards something she doesn't want to see, and she almost cries out as her ankle twists painfully.

_This, _she thinks, shaking a little, _isn't happening. I'm going to open my eyes and I'll be lying in a ditch, staring up at the cloudy sky with a headache and maybe a sprained ankle. I'm going to get up, limp home, call Riku and Sora and Yuffie and Roxas and they're all going to come over and we're going to make bad jokes and watch sappy romance movies and me and Yuffie are going to beat the boys at Tekken 4 and Roxas is going to fight with Riku and I'm going to be home when I open my eyes. Home with the only people that matter. I'm going to open my eyes and I won't be here and I won't be with him._

Kairi opens her eyes, blinks rapidly and squints a little as sunlight blinds her temporarily, and stares out in front of her at the hedge separating her and Axel from whatever lies beyond.

"We're going to have to walk from here," Axel says, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "Since there's this wonderful little enchantment that prevents anyone from warping in or out of the damn place."

He doesn't wait for her to comment and tugs her forward again, towards the entrance to the maze. Kairi, normally, would stand her ground, plant her feet firmly in the dirt and tell him to screw off because she wasn't going anywhere, but her ankle is throbbing and all that happens is her left leg gives out under her and she goes head first towards a boulder.

Axel's hand drops from her wrist and wraps around her waist quicker than she can blink and then he's picked her up bridal style and is looking down at her with one eyebrow raised. "Not very graceful, are you, Princess?"

Kairi glares at him. _I hate you, _she thinks.

"I'm not a princess," she says testily. "And put me down. I can walk myself, you know."

He laughs. He doesn't chuckle or smirk; he laughs and it's quieter than she thought it'd be and the most sincere thing she's heard come out of his mouth all day. "If what just happened is any indication," he says, lips quirked, "you are not in any condition to walk. So sit back and enjoy the ride."

"No," she argues vehemently, squirming in his arms. "Put me down right now. I just want to go home!" She smacks him in the shoulder and tries to drop her legs to the side, but his grip is tight and rather uncomfortable.

"This is home now, sweetheart," he replies, before shifting his arms slightly and tossing her over his shoulder easily and continuing into the woods. "So you better get used to it."

_I hate you, _she thinks.

"What do you want with me, anyways?" she half-asks, half-shrieks, pounding on his back with her fists. "And, _put me down!_"

"I'll pass," he says offhandedly, "And I want you to shut up, feisty as you are."

"Well," she snaps, "maybe if you put me down, I'll stop being a pest."

"Like I said before," he replies. "I'll pass." His hand slips a little higher up her thigh and Kairi, suppressing a squeak, is very glad she's wearing jeans and not a skirt.

_I hate you, _she thinks. But she doesn't say anything the rest of the way.

--

Eventually, green turns into red and white and pillars of stone leading up to a rather elaborate looking throne with doors on either side. Axel sets her down, none too gently, and Kairi has to grab his shoulder to keep herself from tumbling sideways as she lands on her twisted ankle first and winces. Axel smirks.

"Looks like I'm going to have to carry you to your room," he muses before swooping down to pick her up bridal style again, far quicker than he had before. Kairi squeals, legs flailing, and locks her arms around his neck as the ground suddenly disappears.

"You. That. What," Kairi splutters, staring at him, bewildered. Axel's smirk widens and then he walks towards the door on the right, glancing around with an impressed look on his face.

"Those Darkness Dwellers cleaned up good," he says, mostly to himself. "I should've gone to them sooner."

Kairi stiffens a little and suddenly feels very cold as she remembers what Demyx said back when he and Axel were arguing.

_Who was it that sent the Darkness Dwellers after your own supposed comrades?_

_Oh God, _she thinks, panicked and scared, _I'm being carried by a man who murdered his own comrades, people who trusted him, for his own personal gain._

"What's the matter, Kairi," he purrs in her ear as he feels her tense up. "You're not scared of me, are you?"

"O-Of course not," she snaps, with no conviction in her voice. "Why on earth would I be scared of _you_?"

"Because I'm a cold-blooded killer who does whatever it takes to get what he wants," he says nonchalantly. "And because you have no idea what I'm going to do with you. Do to you."

"I think I want to get down now," Kairi says nervously, pulling her arms towards her chest when she realizes they're still around his neck. Axel chuckles.

"Too bad," he teases, fingers dancing along her thighs. "Because I don't want to put you down."

_I hate you, _she thinks again, glowering at a rip in the knee of her jeans. "How long are you going to keep me here?" she asks.

He shrugs and she goes up, then back down with the movement. "Until I get bored with you, I guess."

"You're not very organized for a killer," she points out.

"You're not very freaked out for a captive," he retorts. "Now shut up." He somehow manages to get the door open and kicks it with his foot, before walking inside and dropping her onto a bed. "You'll be staying here," he informs her. "I'm in the other room."

Kairi glares at him, arms crossed over her chest. "Fine."

He shrugs again. "Alright then. G'night, Princess."

The door clicks behind him and Kairi can't tell if it's because he's closing it, or because he's locking it.

--

She wakes up with the blankets tangled around her legs and tries to figure out what time it is. There's no light streaming under her door, so the sun isn't up yet, but she can't tell how late it is. Or if it's even late at all; for all she knows the sky has just gone black for a few minutes.

She contemplates going back to sleep, but figures it's a hopeless cause. All she does is dream about sea salt ice cream and vintage stores and immature fathers anyways.

Sighing, she sits up, unravels herself from the comforter, and goes for the door.

_Time to be an optimist, Kairi, _she tells herself. _Maybe he didn't lock the door. Maybe he didn't think he'd need to. Maybe he thinks you're just going to sit around and play complacent hostage for him._

Her hand wraps around the doorknob. _God, I hope it's open._

It is.

She stares at her hand, sitting on the underside of the knob after she turns it, and exhales slowly. Maybe it's a trick and maybe Axel's waiting for her out front with a knife and a threat, and maybe she's imagining all of it, but Kairi doesn't care as she pushes the door open and welcomes the rush of cold night air that hits her face.

The courtyard, if Kairi can even call it that, is empty from what she can see. Which isn't very far, as it's dark, but there's nothing lurking just outside the door, so Kairi takes this as a good sign and steps forward, closing the door quietly behind her.

"The hedge is the only way in and out," she mutters. "I hope my navigational skills are still as good as they were when I was twelve."

She shuffles around slowly, careful to not make any noise, and keep her arms in front of her so she doesn't bump into any of the pillars. She goes straight, until the prickle of the hedge's bushes brushed her skin, then left, feeling along for the gap in between shrubbery.

Her fingers meet empty air and then someone clears their throat behind her. Kairi blanches and turns slowly on her heel, staring down the red carpet, towards the thrown. A light flickers from somewhere she can't pinpoint and for a few short seconds, Kairi sees Axel sitting there and Axel sees Kairi standing there.

The second the light dies, Kairi whips around and takes off sprinting into the maze as fast as she can with a sprained ankle, with every intention of simply running through the bushes in a straight line until she makes it to the other side. Something whizzes past her arm, and a branch scratches her cheek, but she doesn't falter until she bursts through the third wall of bushes and twined wood and stumbles over a root.

Someone, Axel, she thinks, catches her around the waist with both arms and leans down next to her ear, hair brushing the back of her neck. "Gotcha."

Kairi whimpers as he nips at her earlobe, chuckling, and squirms in his grip. "Let go of me!"

"We've already had this conversation, Kairi," he muses, throwing her over his shoulder again. "You're not going anywhere until I get tired of you. And, to be honest, at the rate you're going, I don't think I'll ever get bored with you around."

_I hate you, _she thinks bitterly as he marches back towards the courtyard, turning and twisting his way through the maze with ease. _I really hate you._

_--_

The next time Kairi wakes up, her ankle is throbbing and Axel is lounging next to her, head propped up on his hand, acid green eyes observant.

"What're you doing?" Kairi stammers, pulling the blankets up to her chin, wide-eyed. Axel rolls his eyes and flicks her in the nose.

"Scaring the shit out of you, obviously," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Do you realize that you talk in your sleep?"

She pales. "What do I say?"

Axel shrugs and pulls the blankets away from her. "Hell if I know," he says, tracing patterns on the skin of her stomach that isn't covered by her rumpled t-shirt, amused by the goosebumps that rises up in the wake of his wandering digits. "It all sounded like gibberish."

His hand drifts higher, lifting the edge of her shirt to her ribcage as his fingers keep moving. Kairi's mouth is dry and she bites her lip hard as his fingers dance over her ribs. "So, you're watching me sleep now?" she manages to say without gasping. "What are you, a stalker?"

"Nah," he says, eyes never moving from her exposed skin. "Just a very watchful keeper." He let his hand wander down again and trace circles around her navel. "After that stunt you pulled last night, I had to be sure you didn't try and run again."

"Really, now," she breathes, eyes fluttering shut. "And, uh, do you plan on watching me every night?"

His fingers wander across where the waistband of her jeans met pale skin. "If you keep reacting like this," he says and Kairi can hear the smirk in his voice, "I might just have to."

She opens her eyes slowly, first staring at the ceiling, then turning her head to the side to look at him. Licking her lower lip, she asks, "What do you want with me?"

He shrugs and tugs her shirt back down over her stomach before rolling onto his back and stretching out. "Lots of things," he says cryptically. "You'll just have to wait and find out what they are."

Glaring at the side of his head, she sits up and straightens herself out. "Are you bi-polar?" she asks, "Because, most of the time, you're a horrible person, but, sometimes, you seem almost… normal."

He sits up as well and shifts so he can look at her, one leg behind her back, the other laying over her knees. "I'm dangerous, Kairi," he says seriously, leaning forward to bite down on her lower lip so quickly she barely registers what's going on. "Remember that."

He's gone in a flash and Kairi falls back down on the bed, suddenly very aware of just what kind of 'things' Axel might have in store for her.

--

Demyx comes looking for her. Kairi sort of expects it to happen, because he's a friend, sort of, and he seemed genuinely upset about assisting in taking her from her world, and when she thinks about it, if Sora or Riku or Yuffie or Roxas were being mauled every day, she'd do the same thing to save them.

So Kairi doesn't blame him and when he comes looking for her, she's glad. Because despite the rare occasions where Axel is almost human and she can stand him, she hates him. And she doesn't think it'll be much longer before he does something.

So Demyx is standing at the hedge entrance, a little bruised and a little scratched, but determined, and holding an instrument that bears a strong resemblance to a guitar. Kairi sighs in relief and is halfway across the courtyard when Axel jumps off his throne, and strides over to him.

"What the hell do you want?" He snarls, blocking Kairi's path towards the blond nymph. "She's none of your concern anymore and I held up my end of the goddamn deal. You should do the same."

"My part of the deal," Demyx says coolly, "was to help you bring her here. There was never anything said about me not rescuing her from you afterwards."

"You think you can take me on, water boy?" Axel laughs mirthlessly and summons two spinning wheels with metal spikes. "It'll be fun to watch you go up in flames."

Demyx glares at him hard, and then the two of them are moving lightning quick around the courtyard. Kairi blinks, unable to track them, and then finds herself sitting on the throne Axel once occupied.

"Keep it warm for me, sweetheart," Axel calls as he slices through one of the waves of water Demyx is conjuring out of nowhere. Kairi, for one single moment, is under the impression that he actually cares about her. Then she remembers everything he went through to get her and realizes she's more like a trophy to him than anything.

"I don't want to keep your stupid seat warm," she grumbles, slouching down in the seat, too afraid of leaving Demyx alone with her captor to move. "I want out of here."

And, even though Axel can't hear her and doesn't respond, Kairi can hear his voice in her head: _Not going to happen, Princess. Never going to happen._

She'd take the opportunity to run, while the two men are locked in battle, but she refuses to leave Demyx to fend for himself (even if he is technically doing that anyways; it's not like she's helping,) and her ankle is a throbbing mess; she can barely walk on it now, much less run.

She isn't focused on her ankle, though; she's focused on Demyx and Axel, both of whom are flinging spirals of water and fireballs, respectively, at one another. Demyx has a slash across his shoulder from Axel's weapons and Axel is drenched from head to toe and slower than usual, his leather coat waterlogged and weighing him down.

All in all, they look like they're evenly matched. And then Axel does something with his hand, Kairi blinks, and Demyx goes shooting backwards about ten feet and into the hedge.

Axel wipes his soaking wet hair away from his face and glances over at Kairi with a smirk. She blinks again, still trying to process what's just happened, and then Axel is dry as a bone. She stares at him, rubs her eyes, and then stares some more.

"Think I should call those Darkness Dwellers to finish him off?" he asks with this sadistic sort of glee. "Or should I go in and finish the job myself?"

Kairi, finally realizing that Demyx is lying unconscious somewhere in the hedge, shoots out of her seat with a 'No!' but stumbles slightly because of her ankle. Axel waves one hand around and his weapons disappear into thin air. Then he's sitting behind her and pulling her into his lap.

"Ankle hurt?" he asks, tickling the back of her neck with his breath. Kairi twists sideways in his grip in response and glares at him, a little more scared of him than she was before, and far more concerned with Demyx's well being than with her own situation.

He raises his eyebrows at her and drops his chin onto her shoulder. "What's the matter, Kairi?" he drawls. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Leave Demyx alone," she says. "He's only being a friend."

"A pest is more like it," he replies easily, lips quirking upwards. "Besides, why would I do that? All he'll do is come back and get in the way. I'm not going to get anything out of keeping him alive."

Kairi bites her lip, notices the way Axel drops his gaze to them, and takes a deep breath.

_I can't believe I'm going to do this, _she thinks. _But Demyx has someone who loves him and he can't die._

"If you leave him alone," she says slowly and Axel looks at her, intrigued, "I'll kiss you."

He raises his eyebrows at her and chuckles. "Don't you think," he says, "if I wanted a kiss, I'd have stolen one already?"

"No," Kairi replies. "I have to think that even you have some respect for another person's privacy."

"You think too highly of me," he says simply before leaning in and running his tongue along her lower lip. "See?" he says when he pulls back, smirking cockily as she turns pink. "That was easy."

"Well," she says, breathing a little faster, "What's it going to take to make you stay away from him?"

Axel's smirk is wide and disconcerting. "You."

"Me?" Kairi chokes out. "What do you mean, me? You've already got me."

He shakes his head and drops his chin back on her shoulder. "When I say I want you, I mean I want you complacent. If you want me to leave Demyx alone, you've got to give yourself to me. Whatever I want, whatever I say, whatever I ask for, you do."

"How about no?" she snaps, glowering at him. "I refuse to be your slave."

"No big deal," Axel says with a shrug, moving to stand up. "I've got to go finish what I started, then. So, if you don't mind getting off me…"

"Wait!" she exclaims, one hand on his shoulder. "If I do this, do you _promise_ to leave him alone?"

"I won't touch a hair on his head," he says with about as much honesty as Kairi thinks he can muster. "But only if you say yes."

"I…" she pauses, bites her lip and thinks hard. Give up the freedom she never really had and save someone's life, or keep it, live with the guilt and continue hoping in vain that she'll ever go home? The decision was easier to make than she'd thought. "I'll do it."

Axel looks victorious, which worries Kairi slightly, but not enough to ring any alarm bells in her head. "Alright then," he says. "I won't touch Demyx."

And something in the way he says that makes Kairi think she's overlooked something. It doesn't matter though, because he's hiked her shirt up her side and is sliding his fingers along her skin, pressing his lips against the side of her neck and biting down. Kairi gasps and lets her eyes close, savoring the heat he exudes.

He nips and sucks his way up her neck, tugs at her earlobe, and breathes out, "I won't touch him _at all_."

--

Kairi wakes up, bleary eyed and sore, with Axel laying on top of her, face pressed into her neck, hands on her thighs. Despite the lanky frame, he's all muscle and it takes her a good ten minutes to push him off.

_Good thing he sleeps like a rock, _she thinks, wincing slightly as she sits up and fumbles for her shirt. _God, _she looks down at the bruises on her hips and the bite marks on her chest, _what did he do to me?_

She's buttoning her jeans when he finally starts to stir, burying his face in a pillow before realizing it isn't her and shooting up so fast she's amazed he doesn't pull something. "What're you doing?" he says groggily, wild hair even wilder, eyes only half open.

"Getting dressed," she says in a tone reserved for small children. He narrows his eyes at her.

"Why? It's not like you're going anywhere."

"Thanks for reminding me," she grumbles, running a hand through her hair. "I just don't like staying in my pajamas all day."

"But you weren't wearing pajamas," he points out, rubbing his head. "You were naked and I was sleeping on you. So strip and get back here."

Kairi flushes pink and shakes her head. "No way. I want to go out and actually do something today. If I'm going to be stuck here for the rest of me life, I might as well enjoy it."

"Fine," he grumbles. "Just, let me find my pants."

--

Axel, Kairi discovers, can be tolerable so long as he's getting what he wants. She dares to even say that sometimes he's pleasant. Ever since their deal was made, he'd taken her anywhere he'd deemed even remotely interesting. It'd been rather amusing to meet the one eyed pirate Xigbar on the coast of the red sea (which was, quite literally, red,) and talking to Luxord again had been nice, even though there was some (understandable) hostility between him and Axel.

They're just wandering today, and by what Kairi assumes is noon, they're back in the courtyard. Axel plops himself down on his throne and pulls Kairi into his lap, the crown Kairi had found at the base of nearby tree one day lopsided on his head.

"So, bored with me yet?" she asks, raising her eyebrows. He snorts and runs his hand up and down her thigh.

"You wish," he says, glancing past her towards the entrance to the hedge. "Oh, look; we've got company. Again."

Kairi turns and sees Demyx standing there, instrument in hand, and is struck with a case of déjà vu as she remembers him looking the exact same way the first time he'd come to fight Axel.

"Back to get your ass kicked again?" Axel asks, smirking. "I thought you got the message the first time. She's none of your concern anymore."

"She is, actually," Demyx says testily, "because she's a friend and I helped get her into this mess, so I'm helping get her out. In other words," he snarls, "get your hands off of her."

Kairi shoots Axel a look when he goes to stand. "We made a deal, remember?" she whispers harshly. "You go back on it now and I'm out of here."

He looks at her with a bored expression on his face. "Alright then. I won't touch him." He waves his hand around theatrically, and as Demyx moves to attack, groups of scuttling black creatures with yellow eyes and antennae rise up from the shadows and move towards him.

Kairi gasps. "What," she stammers. "What are those?"

"Darkness Dwellers," Axel says offhandedly, observing the battle with only a mild interest, still rubbing her thigh. "They have an acquired taste for nymph."

Kairi looks at him sharply, eyes wide and fearful. "You said you wouldn't hurt him!"

"And I won't," he says smoothly. "I told you I wouldn't touch him."

Kairi splutters and struggles in his grip while the creatures move in on Demyx, forcing him back into the hedge and out of sight. "You lied to me!" she exclaims, smacking his arm. "I can't believe you!"

"Oh, sorry," Axel says sarcastically, " Did I catch you off guard? I only kidnapped you, killed a couple of people I was working with, and then kidnapped you again because I was bored. Sorry if I forgot to drop a fucking clue. Besides," he continues, tangling his fingers in her hair. "I didn't lie. I just manipulated you to get what I wanted."

Kairi makes an unintelligible noise and Axel's pulls her towards him to kiss her hard, tongue pressed against hers as Demyx cries out from somewhere neither of them can see. Kairi jerks away, glances over at the hedge, terrified, and looks back at the redhead under her.

"He'll be dead in no time," Axel muses. "He's got to be pretty tough, though, if it's taking them this long." He shrugs. "Oh well. So long as he's out of my way."

He kisses her again, just as hard as before, and she hisses between clenched teeth and bruising lips, "_I hate you._"

Axel just laughs.

--

Finito.


End file.
